


Consideration

by rhodrymavelyne



Series: More Than a Jinrou [12]
Category: Shiki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 16:41:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20410966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhodrymavelyne/pseuds/rhodrymavelyne
Summary: Natsuno has already given Toshio his moment with Seishin. Here he decides to give Tatsumi a moment with Sunako as well, giving the two of them a chance to talk. Only this may not have been a good idea...





	Consideration

**Author's Note:**

> This is Part 12 of my ongoing fanfic, More than a Jinrou. We're entering the second half of the story where some of the plot hooks I've hinted at in side stories are going to start to popping out. :)=
> 
> I don't own Shiki, but there have been many times when it's owned me. :)=

It was almost unbearable. Standing against the wall, waiting. Hearing the pulse of many of throbbing heartbeat, trying not to listen to the two familiar voices within a sea of voices.

One jinrou slouched against a wall. The other sat at a distance from everyone else, his head bowed. 

Tatsumi wouldn’t look at her. He allowed his ears to droop as if he felt guilty. He wasn’t looking at Natsuno either. 

It wasn’t like him. Sunako wished she could speak as once had to her oldest and most trusted companion. For a long time, Tatsumi had been all she had. She’d stolen his life, yet he’d repaid her with a fierce loyalty she’d never understood. Part of it was for accepting him as he was. As if there had ever been anything wrong with Tatsumi. It made Sunako more than a little angry, more than a little willing to tear out the throats of the living who’d made her Tatsumi feel unnatural. 

If only she could reassure him. Talk to him as they had in the past. 

Tatsumi glanced at her, a sweet, sad smile playing on his lips. It was very like the last one he’d given Sunako before she’d fallen asleep, only to lose him. 

The smile faded when he glanced at Natsuno. The slight, blue-haired jinrou wrapped his arms around his knees, making himself as still and motionless as a doll. 

It didn’t matter how inobtrusive Yuuki Natsuno was. Both Sunako and Tatsumi were accutely aware of his presence. He’d sat away from the two of them, yet somehow he was still between them.

“I could go.” Natsuno didn’t look up at Sunako or Tatsumi when he spoke. “Give you two some time alone.”

“We’re here for Seishin-sensei and Ozaki-sensei.” Sunako glanced over at the younger jinrou. “Not for ourselves.”

“That doesn’t mean they’re the only ones who need to talk.” Natsuno dropped his arms and rose to his feet. “Besides I’m hungry.”

Tatsumi’s mouth dropped open. The older jinrou watched Natsuno stalk over to a door leading to the maze of hallways. 

The slender youth opened it, allowing a little more of throbbing music and noise beyond the corridors to trickle into the room. He glanced over at Tatsumi for a long moment before shutting it behind him.

“All those days of fasting, devoting himself to Ozaki-sensei, and now he’s hungry?” Tatsumi twitched his upper ears and closed his mouth. “Who does he think he’s fooling?”

“For one so rude, Yuuki Natsuno is surprisingly considerate.” Sunako gave Tatsumi a sideways glance. 

“It’s one of his most closely guarded secrets.” A grin started to play at the corner of the jinrou’s mouth. “I’m onto him, though.” The grin faded a bit. “I suspect Ozaki-sensei is, too.”

“You’ve changed, Tatsumi.” Sunako inspected her creation, the strongest shiki who’d ever revived from her kiss. Chizuru, Shizuka, not even Yoshie had possessed the power and vitality of Tatsumi. 

It never failed to irk Chizuru, who’d sought ways to sup some of that vitality for herself, usually from young, energetic victims. No matter how much she imbibed, she’d never been able to keep up with the jinrou. 

“You’ve always tried to smile, to force yourself to be happy when you weren’t.” Sunako studied the softened lines around his mouth and eyes. Once they’d been more pronounced, left by a life of heartbreak before she ever bit him. Perhaps a human couldn’t see these marks, but she could. “Your smile seems more natural now.”

“I’m more alive than I’ve ever been, Sunako.” Tatsumi dropped the honorific with a boyish blush. “I can’t remember ever feeling so optimistic about the future. Not just for me, but for you, Seishin-sensei, and yes, Natsuno.” He glanced at the door leading to corridors which separated them from dancing humans. “For the first time since Sotoba, there’s something to look forward to.”

“Is there?” Sunako tilted her head to look up at the jinrou. “I envy you, Tatsumi. This boy you rescued has given you hope.”

“It may just my imagination.” Tatsumi shrugged. “I’ve learned to enjoy such emotions when they come. They leave so quickly.”

“Now that’s the Tatsumi I know. Always waiting for the house to fall down while the rest of us are looking up at the sky.” Sunako smiled a bit, recalling how her blue-haired jinrou scowled when they moved to Sotoba. “I’ve missed you.” 

“You know I’m always there for you if you need me.” Tatsumi reached out to touch the top of her head exposed by her hat. “You have only to ask.”

“I wouldn’t dream of interrupting your moment.” Sunako shook her head, feeling the heavy mantle of hair rippling with the moment. Not that it weighed as much as it had when she was alive. “I do hope you’ll stop by to see me from time to time. Let me know how you’re doing.” She reached up to push a heavy tress away from her face. “And feel free to bring Natsuno with you.”

“If not sure if he-“ Tatsumi began when the door to one of the private rooms opened. 

Ozaki Toshio held the door open for Muroi Seishin. The former priest raised his eyebrow at this, but he walked through. He allowed his lips to quirk in a half-smile, giving his old friend a sideways glance. 

This meant things were going well for Seishin-sensei. As if the easing of the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth weren’t enough to reveal this. 

“Thank you for waiting for us.” The novelist turned jinrou glanced from Tatsumi to Sunako. One of his anxiety wrinkles returned when he swept the room with his attentive gaze to find Natsuno was no longer there. 

This was no comparison to Ozaki Toshio’s reaction. His face flushed, his dark eyes darted around the room with an almost violent anxiety. 

“Where’s Natsuno?” Sunako could hear the mortal’s muscles bunching, tensing with suspicion. 

“Being considerate.” Sunako tripped forward and smiled at the doctor, trying to hide the quiver of apprehension that rippled through her. This was the man who’d murdered Chizuru, who’d plotted Chizuru’s downfall. This was the man who’d killed many of her kind.

Only he was now bound to Yuuki Natsuno and Yuuki Natsuno was bound to Tatsumi. Ozaki Toshio had always been important to Seishin-sensei. She and Tatsumi were finally on speaking terms with the shiki hunter. Best to keep it civilized. 

“Natsuno saw that Tatsumi and I needed a moment in private.” Sunako glanced from the angry human to the quiet jinrou. “Just as you and Seishin-sensei did.”

“And you let him go off alone?!” Ozaki-sensei glared at her, but the force of his angry stare focused on Tatsumi. He began to pace the room like a caged tiger.

“You don’t *let* Natsuno do anything, sensei,” Tatsumi said with pointed emphasis, stepping between the former vampire hunter and Sunako. “I thought you knew that.”

“You don’t understand!” Ozaki Toshio stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath. “All right, perhaps you do.” He lifted a hand to his forehead. “Yuuki Natsuno is stronger than most people, yes. He’s certainly tougher than any kid his age.” He frowned, staring at something beneath his feet only he could see. “That makes him all the more vulnerable.”

Sunako wasn’t sure if she followed this train of logic, but Tatsumi appeared to. The jinrou narrowed his eyes and flared his nostrils. 

“You’re his prey, yet he just gave you up.” Tatsumi balled his hand into a fist. “I told him over and over that to do so was unnatural.”

Seishin-sensei bowed his head at this, lavender hair slipping forward. 

Sunako moved a little closer to the former priest. She wasn’t sure if she could say or do anything for him at that moment. She still wanted to be at his side. 

“It took unnatural strength to do what he did.” Ozaki Toshio shot a glance at his childhood friend before returning his attention to Tatsumi. “Now he’s all alone and…Natsuno!”

Ozaki clapped a hand to his face as if pain were shooting through it. 

At the exact same moment, Tatsumi dropped to his knees. Anguish, terror, and fury all played across his face.

Sunako exchanged a worried glance with Seishin-sensei before going to Tatsumi’s side. The former priest moved to Ozaki-sensei, anxiety glittering in his green eyes. 

She didn’t know what had happened to her jinrou and the human, but she could guess. 

It had something to do with Yuuki Natsuno.


End file.
